Turkey’s President Erdogan consoles crying six-year-old girl by predicting her glorious death in future combat
‘If she becomes a martyr, God willing, they will drape the flag on her. She is ready for everything’
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared to spot the six-year-old girl in the crowd, dressed a miniature military uniform and standing at attention.
The girl took a deep breath and her bottom lip quivered as Erdogan addressed her during a speech to members of his ruling party.
“Look, look, look who’s over there! Girl, what are you doing here?” the president called out to the girl, who was saluting and appeared to be holding back tears.
“We have our maroon berets here,” he said of the Turkish special operations forces.
“But,” he told the child, “maroon berets never cry.”
Erdogan had the girl brought onstage in the arena in Kahramanmaras. She was later identified by the Associated Press as Amine Tiras. But in that moment, broadcast on live TV, she was an anonymous child crying next to the president, whimpering into the microphone as he kissed her cheeks.